Teenage Ambition
by withxlove
Summary: *cedric/harry* Harry has all the stress of unexpectedly being chosen to participate in the Triwizard Tournament without all this unsurety about his sexuality! May have heavier content as it progresses.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer; **I don't own any of the characters, nor the base of the plot. All of the said things go to the ever fabulous J.K. Rowling.

x**T**eenage**A**mbitionx  
a Cedric/Harry fanfic.

---

"I can't be gay…can I?" Harry asked himself quietly. It was the night of the first Triwizard event and he had just snuck away from a big party the Weasley twins planned in the Gryffindor commons. "Ah!" he hit something big and black and fell to the floor. "Ouch." He looked up and found probing grey eyes staring down at him. He blushed slightly and mumbled and inaudible "great". It was the one person whom he _didn't_ want to see at the moment…

_Cedric Diggory_.

"Harry? What're you doing down here?" he said, sticking his hand out for assistance. "Shouldn't you be in your dorm? It's," he checked his watch. "11:43 right now."

Harry took Cedric's hand in his own and got up from the floor feeling horribly foolish, "Well uh…the Weasley twins were having a big party and I didn't really feel like joining in, too much on my mind at the moment."

Cedric chuckled, "I hear you, all the Triwizard commotion and all! And I bet it's even harder for your considering you didn't even want to be in the tournament."

"Yea—wait, you believe me?" Harry asked a little shocked.

"Well of _course _I believe you. I have no reason why I shouldn't." Cedric curled his lips into a smile. "Anyway," he said suddenly, "you'd better get back to your dorm before Filch catches you."

"What about you?"

"I'm a prefect, remember?" he smiled again. "I'll walk you up to the Gryffindor commons just to make sure you're okay."

Nobody talked until they reached the portrait of the fat lady. "Here we are." Cedric said once they reached the landing.

"Thanks." Harry mumbled.

"No problem."

Harry turned around to go into the commons when he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Oh and…" Cedric mumbled, "Good luck, Harry." He smiled before turning on his heels and leaving.

- -

After that night Harry had done his best to avoid Cedric at all costs. "What was that about? He didn't need to follow me back to the dorms; I'm not a child. Why couldn't he have just left me alone? I'm sure he saw me blush!" all these thoughts swarmed into Harry's head the next day at breakfast where he could swear a pair of gray eyes were watching him from across the Great Hall.

He decided it better not to consult his two best friends in the matter of his sexuality. "It's probably just nothing." He said, as if that settled the matter.

"Harry. Harry! _Harry_!" Hermione shouted from across the Gryffindor table.

Harry was a little shocked, one moment he was eating his porridge and the next he was looking over at the Hufflepuff table. "What? Oh…oh, sorry."

"What were you doing, mate?" Ron asked, "You were out of it…looked like you were gazing over at the Hufflepuff table."

Harry fumbled for words, "Uh…nothing. It was nothing." He said a little hesitantly, but found himself gazing over at the other Hogwarts champion once or twice again, anyway.

"Alright well we need to head off to Herbology." Hermione said after breakfast. "Come on, you two." She got up and waited for Harry and Ron to get their things.

"Hey Harry!" Ernie Macmillan said, "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron with a look of puzzled shock on his face, "you two go ahead, I'll walk with Ernie and meet you two in the greenhouses." He walked over to Ernie "So? What is it?"

"Cedric told me to tell you that he wants to meet you in the Great Hall at 9:00 tonight." Ernie said as if he was reciting just what Cedric had told him.

"S-Sorry? Cedric wants _me _to meet him in the Great Hall?" Harry stumbled with the words.

Ernie just nodded, "That's what I said. Don't ask me why 'cause I have no clue." He shrugged and sprinted away to meet up with his fellow Hufflepuffs. Harry went the opposite direction to meet up with Ron and Hermione.

"What was that all about, mate?" Ron asked.

"Oh uh…" Harry muttered, he had told neither Ron nor Hermione about his sexual troubles let alone about his attraction towards Cedric. "It was nothing, nothing at all."

"Oh _honestly_!" Hermione said, "You've been acting distant with us ever since you became a Triwizard champion! I know it's a lot of stress but you could at least open up a little."

Ron nodded, "She's kind of right, mate."

Harry stood abashedly, "Uh…w-well…all right, I'll tell you everything after dinner tonight, sound fair?"

Hermione's words were ringing in his ear all through dinner, "_You've been acting distant…Triwizard champion…lot of stress._" After dinner they all went into the common room and found a lone table.

"All right well…whatever I say I, well, I don't want you two to act any different or even…not like me anyway. You promise?"

Ron nodded and Hermione looked a bit taken aback, "Harry, of course we won't not like you, whatever it is! We've been through a lot together." She took hold of Harry's hands.

"Well…" Harry began. "I think…I think I'm…"

"You think you are what, Harry?" Ron blurted out. Hermione scowled at him but looked at Harry in earnest.

"…I think I'm gay."

**End Notes; **This is my first attempt at a Harry/Cedric fanfic; I've done a small Harry/Cedric poem but nothing this big. It'll, obviously, be a chapter-fic, as nothing very Harry/Cedric-y has happened so far. Sorry about that, ha! I'll set a deadline for the next chapter soon. C&C is very much appreciated; just don't be too hard on it, please.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer; **I don't own any of the characters, nor the base of the plot. All of the said things go to the ever fabulous J.K. Rowling.

x**T**eenage**A**mbitionx  
a Cedric/Harry fanfic.

---

"Gay?" Ron repeated softly, as if not hearing him right.

Hermione on the other hand looked Harry straight in the eyes, "I think I've known for a little while. It doesn't really bother me. But Harry," she clenched his hands even tighter with her own, "you know I won't not like you because of your sexual orientation." She had a look of total concentration on her face, for lack of better word.

"Thanks." He said. "Ron? What do you think…about my new discovery?" he laughed a bit dryly, as if trying to make it seem funny.

"Um, sure…" he forced a little laugh, "just don't come on to me and it'll be all good." He said. Hermione scowled at him again and stood up, walked to the other side of the table and gave Harry a big hug.

"Oh!" Harry said, looking at the clock which read 8:47. "I…I have to go." He let go of Hermione who looked a little hurt.

"Where are you off to at this time of night?" she asked a little tenderly.

"Uh…well I guess I owe it to you to tell you…'member when Ernie pulled me over to tell me something?" Hermione nodded so Harry continued, "Well he told me Cedric wanted to meet me in the Great Hall at 9:00 tonight."

Hermione smiled, "Fantastic! Tell him how you really feel, Harry!"

"…but I didn't tell you I fancied Cedric." Harry's eyes went wide in terror of what Ron would think.

"Oh…well I just figured since you've been looking at the Hufflepuff table an awful lot that you liked him. Sorry it was tactless of me to assume…" she mumbled.

"Well," Harry's face turned a light shade of scarlet, "your assumption was right. But why would he want me to meet him in the Great Hall?" he asked more to himself then to anyone else.

He looked back at the clock which now read 8:50. "All right, well I'm off. Thanks for understanding. This really has lifted some weight off my shoulders." He hugged Hermione one last time and was about to go over to Ron but stopped, Ron had just flinched as if Harry was trying to hurt him. "Um…right. Bye." He, instead, waved to Ron and left the commons.

"So what would Cedric want to meet me for?" Harry thought to himself, walking down the corridor that led to the Great Hall.

"Harry?" a calm welcoming voice said in the looming darkness.

Harry turned and saw a tall very handsome sixth year Hufflepuff staring at him.

"Uh…h-hi," He muttered. "Why did you want to meet me here?" his cheeks turned a delicate pink, "Err…sorry for being a little blunt."

Cedric chuckled, "That's okay. I just wanted to talk with you without interruptions. And since you're with me, you won't get in trouble for being out of the Gryffindor dorms this late.

Harry nodded and smiled a bit. "So…" he started.

"Well, have you figured out the egg yet?" Cedric said.

"_So this was it, he just wanted to know if I figured out the egg's secret. Damn it, and to think he might actually like me._" Harry thought to himself. "Uh…actually I haven't." he said, now finding a great fascination with his shoes.

"Ah. Well you know the prefects bathroom on the fifth floor?" Cedric asked, leaning closer to Harry.

Harry looked up to see Cedric's face close to his. He could almost feel his breath on his neck. "Uh…yeah? What about it?" Harry asked utterly confused.

"It's a nice place to mull things over. Take the egg and…have a little soak." Cedric winked.

Harry stared at Cedric, obviously taken aback. "Uh…all—all right. Thanks, I suppose. Is…that all?"

Cedric stared at Harry, from lips to mouth then back again. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and then shut it. After a few seconds he said, "Yes…I suppose."

Harry nodded and turned to leave, cursing slightly under his breath. "_Of course that was what he wanted. Pf, as if _I _had any chance with _him_! He's probably straight." _Harry thought to himself, "_Yeah, he just wanted to help me as pay back when I tipped him off about the dragons._" He stopped talking to himself and looked backwards. He saw Cedric staring at him. "Uh…do you…want to walk me to the Gryffindor commons?" he asked awkwardly. "_Aw shoot, why'd you have to do that? He probably thinks I'm some queer madly in love with him. …well that's true but that's _totally _not the point._" He dismissed this thought and looked up at Cedric.

He just smiled his warm glowing smile and nodded, "Sure."

They walked in silence, once more, until they got to the landing where the Fat Lady portrait hung. "Th-thanks…for walking me back."

"Sure thing," Cedric laughed a bit, "but one question, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you want me to walk you back? You seemed mighty uncomfortable last time. Sorry about that, by the way." he put his hand on the smaller boys shoulder.

Harry's face grew hot and he knew he was blushing. It was now or never, "Maybe…" he squeaked, "Maybe…I like you." He looked up, his face now the color of his robes. "Eek! I'm sorry…I have to go." He turned around; brushing the older boys hand off his shoulder while doing so, muttered the password to the portrait and hurried inside.

"Ah Harry!" Cedric shouted, but it was too late, the smaller boy was already in his common room.

- -

The next morning Harry told Hermione and Ron everything that had happened.

"Oh _Harry_!" Hermione shouted. "That's so bold! Good for you!" she hugged him tightly.

"But…now he knows, he probably thinks I'm some freak." Harry frowned slightly. Ron muttered something inaudible to either of the two at this statement and Harry felt a bit awkward.

Hermione was the one who broke the tension, "All right well how about we go down to the Great Hall for breakfast?"

"I'm not going." Harry said at once, "What if Cedric's down there? He might've told all his friends! Everyone will know I'm some queer, I know it." He skulked off toward an arm chair near the fire. (Which was, of course, out at this time in the morning.)

"Oh Harry, I bet Cedric didn't tell a soul! I don't think he would be one of the people who would do something like that. Possibly a Slytherin, but aren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be friendly, just and loyal?"

Harry pondered Hermione's statement but shook his head. "I'd rather not Hermione. You two go without me, I'll see you later, 'k?"

"You _are _some pathetic queer, aren't you?" Ron finally spoke. "I don't mind that you're gay, because that's certainly not what this is about," he glanced at Hermione who had a pained yet angry expression on her face, "but seriously, you just told someone you like them! So you're queer? _Who cares_? Grow up and face him!" with that he walked out of the commons.

Hermione sat down next to Harry and put her arm around his shoulder. "I think that was Ron's way of trying to cheer you up." She said with a tinge of anger in her voice. "But part of what he said was right…I think you should face him, Harry." Harry shot an angry look at Hermione, "I'll bring you back toast ok?" she then got up and left the commons.

- -

The next day was a Sunday. Since Harry hadn't left the Gryffindor commons all day yesterday he got all his homework done and out of the way. This also made him a little anxious to go out and do something, "Well…I guess I'll go and work out that egg. What did Cedric say to do? Uh…ah! Go to the prefect bathroom on the fifth floor." He said to himself, grabbing his egg and leaving the common rooms.

He walked down corridor through corridor until he found the right bathroom. He stepped up to the door and whispered 'pine fresh', the door opened up for him, just like Cedric said it would. He walked in and found Cedric relaxing in the baths. "Ah! Cedric, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here." He stumbled around and tripped over his own feet, dropping his egg while doing so. The egg crashed to the floor and opened up, shouting its crude tune throughout the marble-clad bathroom.

Cedric turned around and smiled. When Harry finally managed to close the egg he said, "It's quite all right, I don't mind."

"You don't mind what?" Harry asked sheepishly.

Cedric just chuckled, "I don't mind if you come in here with me."

Harry's face turned numerous colors before sticking with a bright red.

"I don't bite, you know." Cedric said as Harry took his clothes off a few paces away from him.

"Err…I know." Harry said foolishly.

His agile scrawny frame slipped into the water. "Um…now what do I do?"

"You kind of have to put the egg in the water." Cedric said, stepping a bit closer to Harry. "Let me show you." He put his tough but firm hands atop Harry's and directed him with the egg.

A little while later Harry had cracked the mystery. "Thank you!" he said happily, forgetting about the awkwardness. Once he remembered he straightened up and blushed, "Uh…about the other night."

"Forget about it, Harry."

Harry nodded, "All right. Well thanks again." He got up and dried off while Cedric was still in the water. It took all Harry's strength not to look at his highly muscled chest before getting fully dressed. "Well…bye then." He waved and left the bathroom.

"Harry! Wait" Cedric said, but it was too late. Harry had all ready left the room.

**End Notes; **Ha! There was almost a romantic Cedric/Harry moment! You'll just have to wait to find out what happens in the next chapter. I'm not sure if I like this chapter at the moment, though. I'll just have to see how it goes I guess. C&C is much appreciated! Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, I appreciate it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer; **I don't own any of the characters, nor the base of the plot. All of the said things go to the ever fabulous J.K. Rowling.

x**T**eenage**A**mbitionx  
a Cedric/Harry fanfic.

---

Harry hadn't told a soul that he was in the prefects' bathroom alone _with Cedric Diggory_. Not even his two best friends. Well, more Hermione then Ron. Ron had been acting weird ever since the night Harry came out.

"Just let it sink in, I'm sure Ron will be ok after a while." Hermione had tried to reassure him.

Although the words had touched Harry, it had not exactly reassured him. He didn't have 'a while' to wait for his best friend to get around to him, he needed Ron more then ever, and he was bailing on him.

"Oh Harry, look! Cedric's looking at you." Hermione nudged Harry at breakfast.

Harry automatically blushed and looked up in the middle of putting some marmalade on his toast, resulting in him dropping his knife and making a small clatter. "I _knew _it was a bad idea coming to breakfast."

"Oh shut up all ready! You're finally out of the commons; I'd think you'd be happy finally being out of the place." Ron snorted from his porridge.

Hermione looked up from carefully watching the Hufflepuff table and towards Ron. She blinked and then said, "All right well _I'm _going to go to the library. Harry, I suggest _you_ go talk to Cedric." And with that she picked up her books and fled the Giant Hall.

Harry watched her leave and then glanced at Ron. He was, as usual, ignoring Harry and looking up at the ceiling, as if nothing happened. Harry then got up and left for the commons, looking at the Hufflepuff table as he passed. He looked it up and down and didn't see Cedric there at all. "_Hermione must've been hallucinating._" He thought to himself.

He almost reached the bottom of the marble stair-case when he felt an arm latch onto his own and pull him into a dark corridor near the dungeons. He instinctively went for his wand but he was all ready cornered. "S—stop!"

"Easy there, it's ok!"

"C—Cedric?!" Harry yelped.

"Yep, it's me. Sorry for doing this to you, but I couldn't find any other way. You've been avoiding me ever since that night in the baths." He had a look of utter seriousness on his face but his lips soon curled into a smile, "Which I didn't plan by the way…but it was a nice surprise." He added as a last thought.

Harry's head was throbbing, "_Did Cedric, in his own special way, just say he liked me?_" he thought to himself. "Uh…"

"Shush, don't talk." Cedric stopped him, putting a finger to his mouth. He just gazed into the smaller boys green eyes.

"C—Cedric? Aren't you…repulsed?" Harry finally asked.

"Repulsed? Why would I be repulsed?" Cedric asked, tilting his head to the side, feigning innocent.

"Because I'm…well I'm gay." Harry shut his eyes, as if not wanting to see Cedric's reaction.

Cedric just laughed, "Well of course I'm not repulsed."

Harry opened his eyes.

"I…don't know if it's wrong to do what my heart has wanted…but I'll take the gamble." Cedric murmured.

Harry was about to ask what he meant when he felt soft warm lips touch his own. He moaned in amazement. Cedric's breath tasted like a mix of sweet marmalade and cool mint. AKA: heaven.

When Cedric finally pulled back his face was a delicate red. "Sorry if you don't feel the same about me, I just figured I'd go for it."

"No…no that was amazing." Harry said softly. "I didn't know…I mean…_you're Cedric Diggory_!" Harry blurted out.

"Well yes, last time I checked." Cedric chuckled.

"Well…I'm going to…going to go now." Harry said, still in shock.

"All right." Cedric said, smiling more confidently now. "Sorry if I scared you."

Harry shrugged; "It's quite all right." he smiled back and skipped to the Gryffindor commons as if on floating clouds full of twisting sugar and twirling cinnamon.

Hermione was all ready in the commons when Harry went in, twittering about with a slight grin on his face.

"Harry?" Hermione said with her mischievous know-it-all-Hermione look. "What happened?" she asked slyly.

"Oh nothing." Harry said, plopping down on a chair near the fire.

Hermione got up, "Harry, c'mon! Tell me!" she sat down beside the opposite chair.

"Well…when you left, I left a few minutes later and…I was walking up to come here when," he looked around, seeing if anyone could hear him, "Cedric grabbed me and pinned me to a corridor wall." He lowered his voice.

Hermione uttered a small gasp but other than that didn't say a thing, expecting more.

"Well…he kind of just stared into my eyes. Quite odd, it was." Harry said dazed, as if recalling the exact moment in his head. "And then…he kissed me."

"Merlin's beard, Harry!" Hermione jumped up from her chair (scaring a sleepy Crookshanks from slumber) and hugged Harry tight. "That's so cute!"

When Hermione finally let go, Harry was blushing like mad. "Um…yeah. I guess he does like me, then?"

"Well of _course_, Harry. Oh this is so great!" She bounced up and put her books away in her bag.

"So…" Harry said quietly, "does this mean we're going out?"

"I'd guess so…but I'd talk to him about it, first."

Harry nodded and then went up to the dorms to collect his thoughts. "_So…did Cedric _really _kiss me?_" he lazed on his four-poster, glasses on and fully clothed. "_Yeah…I guess he did._" He laughed at himself. "But now what to say to Ron…" he said quietly.

"Tell me what?" a grumpy snort came from one bed over.

"Ah. Ron? I didn't know you were in here." Harry turned over to face Ron. "Uh, look Ron…I know you aren't very ecstatic about the news I gave you but…we can still be friends, right?"

"Well of course…I know I've been acting a bit weird lately…sorry about that, mate. I just think you coming out impacted me a lot. Growing up I've heard tons of queer jokes and you actually coming out and telling me that you _are _gay just threw me off balance. But I guess since you're happy with it, its okay. Plus Hermione seems to think it's the next revelation. She's mad, she is." He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Oh? That's…that's fantastic." Harry said, grinning ear to ear. He _did _have his friend back. Both of them, as a matter of fact.

"So…what was that thing you wanted to say to me?"

"Oh right." He fumbled with the right words in his head for a few seconds, "Well…Cedric kissed me today."

Ron flinched, as he did many times after Harry's coming out, yet this time it wasn't as bad. "That's…that's cool." He paused, "So…does this mean you two are going out?"

"That's what I was thinking." Harry smirked, "Hermione said I should talk to him about it, but she seems to think so." He looked to see how Ron was taking all this in, "…and I really hope it does. But I don't want to go too fast. I've never had a girlfriend let alone a _boy_friend!" he fumbled with his fingers for a bit before casting a look out the window. "Well I'm going to go to bed. 'Night."

"'Night." Ron said, getting back into his covers and dozing off.

**End notes; **Sorry for the long gap in between the second chapter & this one. It dipped into the Easter holidays & then I had two big tests to study for in school & then, yeah, it gets even better: for about four days in a row wouldn't let me upload the .doc to the site. Yet all in all, I think I did all right. I hope you like this chapter! I know it's a tad short, but at least you got _some _form of Cedric/Harry-ness!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer; **I don't own any of the characters, nor the base of the plot. All of the said things go to the ever fabulous J.K. Rowling.

x**T**eenage**A**mbitionx  
a Cedric/Harry fanfic.

---

The next morning Harry got up very tired. "C'mon mate, Hermione is waiting for us." Ron said, yawning in the process.

"Alright…I'm coming." Harry said sleepily, lifting his hands to his eyes and rubbing the sleep out of them.

After a while, once Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the Great Hall eating their breakfast, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over to find none other than Cedric peering at him from behind. "Cedric? Uh, hi." Harry murmured softly.

"Hey. You guys mind if I steal him for a few?" He asked Ron and Hermione.

Harry got up from the Gryffindor table and followed Cedric out of the Great Hall and to a more secluded area near the marble stair-case. "Um…Cedric I've been wanting to ask you something…" Harry began.

"Same as I, that's why I asked if you would accompany me here." He smirked before letting Harry continue.

"So…what happened last night," He stopped, "_I…don't know if I can actually ask him? What if he turns me down? Ugh…_"

"Go on." Cedric urged after a few moments had passed without a word.

"Ah," Harry collected his thoughts and after a few more painful moments he went on, "um so does this mean we are, you know, going…out?" He let go a big breath, awaiting a response.

Cedric nodded, "If you're willing. I mean, you are _the _Harry Potter." His lips curled into a smile.

Harry grinned at this, "Yes but let us not forget _you_ are _the _Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff-hunk, teen heartthrob. Ah and of course I could go on."

Cedric just stared at Harry for a bit, "I love your smile, Harry." He then kissed Harry's forehead. "Let's go back to the Great Hall; I shouldn't keep your friends waiting."

"Oh, well, yes." Harry said, wanting the moment to last forever. "Yes, we should go." They somehow made their way back to the Great Hall without making a noise. When they separated; Cedric to his house table and Harry's to his, they looked at each other like they have never done before—a look of wanting, a longing for each other.

"So what did Cedric want?" Hermione asked; both she and Ron had finished their meal.

Ron nodded, "So did you ask?"

Harry smirked, "Yes. We…are going out? I'm not sure if I want everyone to know, and I don't think he does either so please don't tell anyone," he paused, "at least not yet." He added as an after thought.

- -

Later that day after classes the trio went outside as it was a gorgeous day.

"Wow, it sure has been warming up lately." Hermione said.

"Yeah." Both Ron and Harry said.

After a little while a beautiful Asian Ravenclaw girl came up to the group. "Hi Harry. Um, have you seen Cedric anywhere?"

"Oh hi Cho! Um…no, I'm sorry. Last time I saw him was in the Great Hall during breakfast." Harry answered.

Cho looked a tad disappointed but she managed to smile, "All right, well thank you anyway Harry. See you!" She waved and walked away.

"Hmm, that's odd, isn't it? I wonder where he could be." Hermione pondered aloud.

Harry nodded, "Yeah. Well I'm sure he's just wondering around. I mean, he does have a lot of work cut out for him. He _is _Cedric Diggory after all." He shrugged. "_What's this feeling? I can't be _jealous _can I? No…of Cho? Cedric all ready told me he was gay…right?_"

"All right you two, we should get working on our homework, yes?" Hermione said getting up.

Ron nodded and got up as well.

"Um…I'll meet you in the commons, 'k?" Harry said, unmoving.

"All right. Don't be too long, you shouldn't procrastinate!" Hermione chided, walking away with Ron by her side.

"_All right, finally some alone time._" Harry thought to himself. He got up and started walking. He didn't know where, his legs and feet were in control.

He found himself wandering around the Quidditch pitch. "Wow…this year has been so eventful. This definitely won't be a year I'll forget easily."

"You can say that again." A voice from behind Harry said.

He turned around with a shocked expression planted on his face. "Pardon? Cedric! What're you doing here? Cho came by earlier looking for you."

Cedric just chuckled, "Yeah. She's been a bit smothering lately."

"You two are friends?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side.

Cedric nodded, "Best of."

"Oh…there's a lot about you I don't know, Cedric."

"So it seems. Well it'll just be even more for us to talk about, eh? Care to join me?"

Harry nodded. After a few minutes of walking he asked, "So where are we going?"

"Just over here, near those trees." Cedric answered, pointing to a group of isolated trees. "No one ever goes there so it's very quiet. It's my 'secret place' I suppose you could say. I come here when I need some time to think."

"That's quaint, isn't it? I usually just go to an empty class room when I need time alone. Of course that's kind of hard with my friends around me a lot. But I appreciate it…before Hogwarts I had no friends."

"That's hard to imagine. Why the bloody hell _wouldn't _anybody want to be friends with you?" Cedric laughed and tugged Harry closer. "See? There's also a lot about _you_, Harry, that I don't know about either."

"Well…you see I didn't have a nice life up until I learned I was a wizard. I didn't even know until I was ten." Harry paused, waiting to see if Cedric wanted to say anything but before he could continue they reached Cedric's 'secret place'.

Cedric sat down under a tree, took a branch and started writing in the dirt. "Wow…that must've been hard, Harry. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said before marveling over his work. "Come look." He motioned for Harry to come closer. (He had been standing at the opening the whole time).

"It's all right. I managed to survive some way or another. I'm here, aren't I?" Harry smiled and looked at what Cedric had written. It was a heart with their names intertwined in it. "Ah! That's amazing." He slumped down next to Cedric, careful not to destroy his work and hugged him.

"Thanks." Cedric replied a little sheepishly.

"So what were you doing when you saw me talking to myself? Which…I wasn't really talking to myself, more like thinking aloud." Harry scratched his chin for a moment before waiting for an answer.

"Well I was actually trying to find you. And I did, but you were with your friends so I didn't want to intrude. But then I saw Hermione and Ron walk away and you wonder around so I kind of wondered around a few paces away with you, trying to find a good reason to randomly come up to you. Though I couldn't find one so I kind of just interjected in your conversation with yourself." He laughed slightly.

Harry blushed a little, "Well you alone are the reason to randomly come up to me. You know I've liked you for a while…" his voice trailed off. "_Have I said too much? I don't want him to think I was stalking him or anything…" _He snapped his head up towards Cedric's, whom was staring at the picture he had drawn. "I wasn't stalking you or anything." He said and then looked down out of embarrassment.

Cedric laughed, a big grin crawling on his face, "Yes I know. God I love you Harry." He bent down and kissed Harry's forehead again.

"I love you too." Harry replied quietly.

"Wow, it's going to be getting dark soon. I think we'd better get heading up to the castle." Cedric replied.

"Oh. Yes of course." Harry said reluctantly. "Yes I have homework to finish anyway."

"Oh I'm sorry, if I knew I wouldn't have kept you so long. Come, I'll walk you back." Cedric stuck his hand out for assistance.

Harry took hold of it and got up. He looked Cedric right in the eyes and kissed him, this time not just a peck on the cheek or a small kiss on the lips, but a passionate kiss. Cedric greeted this kiss openly and stroked his hands through Harry's hair.

Once they finally stopped the small make-out session, they got their belongings and headed up to the castle, every few seconds looking at each other and smiling a small, knowing, smile.

"Well here we are." Cedric said, once they got to the landing of the Gryffindor commons. "Thanks for the talk. I'll be seeing you?"

Harry nodded and pecked a small kiss on Cedric's cheek, "You definitely will." And with that he muttered the password and walked into the commons.

**End Notes;** Finally the fourth chapter is done! And, of course, so is my hiatus! I'm so sorry I took such a long hiatus! What was it? Three months? Again I'm so sorry! But here it is! The fourth chapter in my pride and joy! I'm loving how this is coming along. Oh and there will be quite a surprise in the next chapter. You'll never see it coming. Muwahaha! Watch out for the next chapter! (It will definitely be coming out in less than three months! Haha!) Thanks for reading everyone, and please review!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer; **I don't own any of the characters, nor the base of the plot. All of the said things go to the ever fabulous J.K. Rowling.

x**T**eenage**A**mbitionx  
a Cedric/Harry fanfic.

---

That night seemed to pass very slowly for Harry. He couldn't stay asleep long enough before he awoke with more thoughts pressing on him. Of course, most of these said thoughts were about one person and one person only. _Cedric Diggory_.

When the morning finally came, Harry was never more glad to see the sun rise up. "Finally," he muttered to himself, "what a ruddy night that was." He went to wake Ron.

Ron was talking to himself, as usual. "Ron." Harry shook Ron's bed covers. "Ron! _Ron?!_"

"'Ermione…don't…leave—Harry? I'm awake…yeah…awake." Ron moved in his bed; nestling deeper into the covers before blinking, staring right up to Harry. "'Arry! You bloody well could have killed me. Scared me half to death, you did." Ron said, fully awake.

Harry laughed a knowing smile. "Well you should get up, mate. Breakfast will start without you." With that he left the dorms and into the common room where Hermione sat, as usual, reading a book.

"Harry!" Hermione closed the seeming old book very fast, dust flying from it's pages as she did so. She seemed embarrassed. "Um hey. Where's Ron?"

Harry wasn't a bit taken aback by the way she hid the book from him. He could really care less about the kind of literature Hermione liked to read. Usually boring history accounts of random goblins or the like. But when Hermione got a little red in the cheeks he knew something was up.

"Hermione…? Why are you hiding the book from me?" Harry asked.

"Book? Oh this one?" She blushed a bit harder. "Well, don't be mad or anything but I took this out of the library…you see I was planning on giving it to you when you got up this morning but I kind of got engrossed and started reading it myself." She shoved the book towards Harry's outreached hands.

Harry looked at the books title, _Famous Queer Witches and Wizards in Wizarding History_. Harry glanced at Hermione and then smiled. He was relieved at the companionship he had in Hermione; she seemed to know what he was going through. She kept calling it 'woman's intuition'. "T—thanks." Harry said.

Ron came down the stairs, looking ever so groggy. "'Ey guys. What's up?"

Harry laughed, "I'll be right down guys, 'k?" He then proceeded to walk past Ron and up the stairs to the boys' dorms. There, he laid the book in his luggage, under a few pairs of his Uncle Vernon's old socks.

When he came down Hermione and Ron had evidently left for breakfast already. He shrugged and went down to the Great Hall himself.

Whilst passing a few students, he couldn't help notice a few of them pointing at him. When he got into the Great Hall a bunch of Slytherins started clapping. He shrugged it off; it was probably just something Malfoy made up to make Harry look like a git. But when he got to the Gryffindor table, aside Ron and across Hermione, he knew it wasn't just some stupid rumor.

"Harry…Malfoy _knows_." Hermione whispered, her head bent across the table.

Harry looked at Ron, utterly confused. Ron had a look of great torment on his face. He quickly shoved some of his breakfast into his mouth, so he wouldn't be able to speak.

Hermione leered at Ron, "Harry…Malfoy knows about you and _Cedric_!" She had a hurt expression on her face, like it was paining her to utter the few words she had said.

Harry's heart began to beat faster then it had in a while. He immediately turned towards the Hufflepuff table, searching for Cedric. There he was, eating some porridge and happily talking to his fellow Hufflepuffs. He seemed not to know at all. But then he caught site of Harry and his smile turned into a slight frown. He nodded towards the exit of the Great Hall. Harry knew what it meant.

After breakfast was over, and a lot of jeering and loud laughing coming from the Slytherin table Harry got up and told Ron and Hermione he had some place to be. They both nodded, both with a rigid expression planted on their face. Almost robotic.

Harry walked over towards the exit of the Great Hall. He peered over to the Slytherin table, he knew he shouldn't have but out of mere curiosity he did so anyway. Malfoy and his cronies were making kiss-y faces at him. He immediately turned his head towards the Hufflepuff table. Cedric seemed to have already have left.

Once out of the Great Hall, he turned his attention to the secluded place where he was to meet Cedric. Of course, he was there.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know how he knows." Harry said immediately. "I really didn't say anything. That git, I would never talk to him if he didn't rear his ugly head at me in the first place!"

"It's ok, Harry. I believe you. I thought I heard the shrubs stir when we were alone last night. I should have put up the usual enchantments. I guess I was so distracted by you I forgot." Cedric said reassuringly.

Harry nodded, his heart slowing down a bit. "_Oh bloody hell I thought for sure he'd be mad at me._" He then looked up at Cedric, finally taking in the last part of what he had said. "Wow…t—thank you. But what should we do about Malfoy?"

"Nothing. With luck nobody will believe him except those two gits that follow him around everywhere. And even if they do, nothing will change my mind about you."

Harry was a bit stunned by the passionate way Cedric chose his words. "_He must really like me, I suppose._"

"Alright, well I better head to my first class, Harry. See you." Cedric pecked Harry on the cheek before turning on his heels and heading off for his first class of that day.

"Y—yeah…I guess I'll go back into the Great Hall, myself." Harry was a bit shocked by the sudden emptiness he felt at the pit of his stomach. "How did Malfoy know? What if Cedric was just saying all those things…?" Harry muttered under his breath.

He reached the Gryffindor table and took his seat again.

"So? What's up?" Ron said red in the face.

"Cedric doesn't seem to care. He thinks it'll just all blow over after a few days." Harry answered, a bit sullenly. But then an idea struck him, "Uh, I'm going to go get ready for classes, 'k? See you later." He then got up and rushed out of the Great Hall.

Hermione looked down at her empty plate. "Ron? You think he'll be ok?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah. It's Harry we're talking about. I think you're underestimating him, Hermione."

"I hope you're right…"

- -

Back in the dorms, Harry had gotten all his supplies ready and homework compiled. But of course that's not why he came up there: he wanted to start on that book Hermione had gotten him.

After about ten minutes had passed he had read the first few pages and he was pretty confident about his sexuality. There were some amazing wizards who were out and proud. Some were still living. Like Fiona Dolosan who was one of the best Healers of her time. Or Hector Malfidora, a famous vocalist in the well known rock band "Malfidora's Wands".

He looked at the time. Five minutes till Transfiguration. Harry cursed under his breath, got his stuff and sprinted out of the commons.

Harry got to the classroom right in time.

"Good thing you aren't late, Potter." Professor McGonagall said, whisking away behind her desk to collect some things for class.

Harry sat on down between Hermione and Ron. "So where did you go?" Ron whispered.

"Just back to the dorms, I had some reading to do." He smiled more so to Hermione then Ron.

- -

After classes were over for the day, the trio went outside under their favorite tree to study. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle followed them. "So queer, what's it like? Snogging other boys?" Malfoy sneered.

"Shut up, Malfoy. I don't need to explain anything to you." Harry retorted.

"Oh so you don't deny it then?" Malfoy asked. Crabbe and Goyle snickered.

Harry looked at his friends and then thought of Fiona and Hector. "N—no, I—I don't." Harry finally said, defiantly.

"So you _are _a queer! You and that Diggory boy, eh? Yeah, I saw you two snogging near some trees yesterday. I wonder what everyone will think when I tell them their big Saint Potter is a queer." Malfoy laughed with Crabbe and Goyle in suit.

"Shut up Malfoy." Hermione shouted, got up and shot a Bat-Bogey hex straight at him.

"Uwah!" Malfoy shouted and fell over, tripping over his own feet.

Harry chuckled to himself and shot a full body-binding curse at Crabbe and Goyle who toppled over on Malfoy.

"That was brilliant, you guys." Ron said, too astounded to stand.

"Unfortunately that won't help him knowing you're gay." Hermione said, sitting back down.

"Yes, but that felt _good_." Harry said. "Uh, do you guys mind if I try to find Cedric?"

Both of them nodded their approval so Harry headed for Cedric's 'secret spot', hoping to find him there. When he got there, he heard two voices. He ducked under a bush where he could see them. It was Cedric and another guy. Harry recognized him from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"So you're queer, are you?" the team member asked.

"Yes." Cedric answered, not a bit perturbed.

An uneasy silence followed.

"Is it true? You and that Potter kid are, you know…going out?"

"Yes." Cedric said, not faltering with the word.

The team member was shocked, he took a few steps back, "I'm sorry Cedric but t—that's sick." He spat at the ground.

Cedric didn't respond.

"I'm going to go now. Think things over." And with he left the alcove.

Harry hid under some underbrush so he wouldn't be seen. Once the guy was out of sight, Harry leapt out of the bushes and over to Cedric. "Cedric! I'm so sorry!"

Cedric turned around with a slight shocked expression on his face, not knowing Harry was near. "Why?"

"Well I—I made your team dislike you. I—I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for you to…" his voice trailed off because at that moment Cedric had put his lips to Harry's, shutting Harry up.

"I told you I don't care." Cedric whispered.

**End Notes;** Yay chapter five is up & done! Enjoy! I really liked writing this chapter. I think it came out lovely. The inspiration came from you, my readers. Especially the people who review, all those good reviews they just pump me up. & then I noticed a lot of people have added TA to their "favorite stories". &, less importantly, me in their "favorite authors". I felt so happy knowing that people really like this. Thank you everyone!! Now onto something more important. This was going to be the last chapter. I had set up for TA to be a five chapter fanfic, but since I never thought I'd have such a following as I do, I've left it open for you guys to decide. I think I left this chapter in an open free for all. Done or not?


End file.
